'I adore her now': Mother learns to cope with child's autism in a country with little help

12 hours ago

Nicky Milne BBC Africa Eye, Mzuzu & Lilongwe

BBC

Martha is now able to smile with her daughter Rachael, but things were much darker two years ago

Martha Ongwane looks adoringly at her bouncy, giggling four-year-old, unable to believe that just two years ago she had wanted to kill her.

Non-verbal, biting and unable to sit still, her daughter Rachael, who had been diagnosed with autism, had slowly overwhelmed Martha leaving her desperate and depressed.

She was shunned by her neighbours in the east African country of Malawi, who blamed her for what Rachael was doing.…